The Beretta Cougar 8000

The Beretta Cougar 8000 9mm pistol is
one of the guns that I have owned and sold, but wish I had back. The
gun is a dependable, concealable powerhouse that should be included in
my "special carry needs" arsenal, but alas, somebody else owns it.
Everybody should own one GLOCK for general carry and one hammer fired
pistol with a de-cocker for carry when a holster is not practical.

The "full size" Beretta Cougar that
I owned was actually quite compact with a 3.7 inch barrel and single
stack ten round magazine which made the gun quite comfortably concealable.

My shooting accuracy with the Cougar was very ho-hum
but I have a couple of friends that shot it, and in their hands it was
dead on target.

That's something that every shooter hates to admit,
that somebody else can shoot their guns better than them, but.....that's
the way it was with the Cougar. The poor accuracy in my hands was just
me.

The gun was utterly dependable with hundreds of
rounds of several different brands of cheap target ammo and hollow
points in a couple of brands. There was never any doubt that the gun
would perform when the trigger was pulled.

I actually have one friend who
hardly ever picks up a handgun who took the thing and put shot after
shot in 3" groups shooting off hand from 40 feet. The gun has a unique
locking-barrel design that supposedly enhances consistency in shots by
the barrel twisting and locking in place with each shot.

As far as feel, the gun will fit a wide range of hand
sizes. It should be comfortable in any man's and most womens' hands.
Even though the gun was not large or heavy the 9mm Beretta Cougar recoil
was very mild. The gun's shape, length, and profile makes it easy to
conceal and comfortable to carry in a wide range of situations and
holsters.

The Beretta Cougar 8000 is hammer and
firing pin fired with a safety and de-cocker for safe handling and
carry. It is a standard double/single action handgun. You can rack the
slide to chamber the first cartridge, then de-cock the gun to carry
safely. In this position you can also apply the safety but it is not
necessary.

When de-cocked, the gun can be drawn and the first shot
fired in double action, automatically chambering the next shell and
making subsequent shots single action.

BOTTOM LINE: The Beretta Cougar 8000,
9mm pistol is a dependable, accurate, easily concealable pistol that is
fun to shoot. It is a worthy consideration when choosing a handgun to
be your primary or secondary carry firearm. The retail price of mine
new at Academy Sports was about $500. Not a bad buy for a gun that
boasts a tested firing life of 30,000 rounds.